Level Up.pdf

More documents

Recommendations

Info

About the Author After discovering that game designers have more fun, Scott Rogers embarked on a 16 - year- (and counting) career in video games. He has helped design many successful video games including: Pac - Man World, the Maximo series, God of War, Drawn to Life series and Darksiders. Scott is currently a creative manager for THQ and lives just outside nuclear strike range of Los Angeles with his lovely wife, two children and many, many action figures.
Press Start! If You Are Anything Like Me … … then you ’ ll read the first page of a book before you buy it. I find that if I like the first page, then I ’ ll probably like the whole thing. I have noticed that many books have an exciting excerpt on the first page in order to grab the reader ’ s interest, such as: The zombie ’ s filthy claws clutched hungrily at Jack ’ s shirt, even as his blade split the creature ’ s head like a ripe melon. A firm kick to its headless torso sent it sprawling down the stairs into the greedy mob that surged forward like a wave. The corpse ’ s undead brothers and sisters paused their onslaught until they realized the decapitated body was just dead meat. Their hesitation gave Jack a second to spare a glance over his shoulder and see that Evelyn had finally reached the helicopter. Jack braced himself for the oncoming mob. “ Get that thing started! I can ’ t hold them off forever! ” he yelled, as he severed several greedily clutching hands from their wrists. “ But, Jack! ” Evelyn screamed back, frantically flipping switches. “ I don ’ t know HOW to fly a helicopter! ” Not that I would ever resort to such cheap tactics in this book. I have also noticed that some books try to gain respectability by publishing a positive quote from an industry professional or famous person on their first page: I learned more from reading the first page of <strong>Level</strong> <strong>Up</strong>! The Book of Great Video Game Design than I learned in working for 25 years in the video game industry! A very famous game designer 1 1 No doubt you are smart enough to have realized that this isn ’ t a real quote, because there isn ’ t a very famous game designer. Unless you count Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of Mario. Drat! I should have translated the above quote into Japanese!
Page 4 and 5: Copyright Information Please note t
Page 6 and 7: This edition first published 2010
Page 8 and 9: Publisher’s Acknowledgments Some
Page 10 and 11: viii Contents Level 2 Ideas 23 Idea
Page 12 and 13: x Contents Level 8 Sign Language—
Page 14 and 15: xii Contents Level 15 Some Notes on
Page 18 and 19: xvi Press Start! You obviously don
Page 20 and 21: xviii Press Start! video games shou
Page 22 and 23: xx Press Start! to me. Why would yo
Page 25 and 26: T LeveI 1 Welcome, N00bs! This chap
Page 27 and 28: So, let ’ s ask this basic questi
Page 29 and 30: A Brief History of Video Games Earl
Page 31 and 32: A Brief History of Video Games A co
Page 33 and 34: Game Genres Game Genres Over the ye
Page 35 and 36: Game Genres 11 Puzzle: puzzle games
Page 37 and 38: Who Makes this Stuff? One programme
Page 39 and 40: Who Makes this Stuff? many, many sk
Page 41 and 42: Who Makes this Stuff? 17 problems (
Page 43 and 44: Writer Have You Thought about Publi
Page 45 and 46: Have You Thought about Publishing?
Page 47 and 48: T LeveI 2 Ideas Let ’ s talk abou
Page 49 and 50: Ideas: Where to Get Them and Where
Page 52 and 53: 28 LEVEL 2 Ideas • Space Panic’
Page 54 and 55: 30 LEVEL 2 Ideas them credit for. O
Page 56 and 57: 32 LEVEL 2 Ideas 3. Something to wr
Page 58 and 59: 34 LEVEL 2 Ideas Breaking Writer
Page 60 and 61: 36 LEVEL 2 Ideas others are clear l
Page 62 and 63: 38 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story 2. Our
Page 64 and 65: 40 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story 6. An
Page 66 and 67:
42 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story they s
Page 68 and 69:
44 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story The Tr
Page 70 and 71:
46 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story What d
Page 72 and 73:
48 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Howeve
Page 74 and 75:
50 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story game.
Page 76 and 77:
52 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Death
Page 78 and 79:
54 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story Comedi
Page 80 and 81:
56 LEVEL 3 Writing the Story great
Page 82 and 83:
58 LEVEL 4 You Can Design a Game, B
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96:
Page 99 and 100:
The Game Design Document (and the A
Page 101 and 102:
The Beat Chart The Beat Chart 77 Th
Page 103 and 104:
Above All, Don’t Be a Schmuck 79
Page 105 and 106:
Level 4’s Universal Truths and Cl
Page 107 and 108:
T LeveI 5 The Three Cs, Part 1 —
Page 109 and 110:
Personality: Do We Really Need Anot
Page 111 and 112:
Personality: Do We Really Need Anot
Page 113 and 114:
Let’s Get Personal 89 an internat
Page 115 and 116:
Let’s Get Personal While video ga
Page 117 and 118:
Finally, We Talk about Gameplay 93
Page 119 and 120:
Why Walk When You Can Run? 95 The t
Page 121 and 122:
Why Walk When You Can Run? 97 with
Page 123 and 124:
The Art of Doing Nothing 99 When yo
Page 125 and 126:
Might as Well Jump 101 1. The playe
Page 127 and 128:
Might as Well Jump 103 The target t
Page 129 and 130:
What Goes Up, Must Fall Down 105 Jo
Page 131 and 132:
What Goes Up, Must Fall Down 107
Page 133 and 134:
Be Kind to Our Four-Legged Friends
Page 135 and 136:
We Are Not Alone 111 player, who is
Page 137 and 138:
We Are Not Alone 113 While companio
Page 139 and 140:
We Are Not Alone 115 Scout Engineer
Page 141 and 142:
Who Are the People in Your Neighbor
Page 143:
Page 146 and 147:
122 LEVEL 6 The Three Cs, Part 2—
Page 148 and 149:
Page 150 and 151:
Page 152 and 153:
Page 154 and 155:
Page 156 and 157:
Page 158 and 159:
Page 160 and 161:
Page 162 and 163:
Page 164 and 165:
Page 166 and 167:
Page 168 and 169:
Page 170 and 171:
Page 172 and 173:
Page 174 and 175:
Page 176 and 177:
Page 179 and 180:
T Levei 7 The Three Cs, Part 3 —
Page 181 and 182:
The Three Cs, Part 3—Controls 157
Page 183 and 184:
Dance, Monkey, Dance 159 • While
Page 185 and 186:
Dance, Monkey, Dance 161 • Clasp
Page 187 and 188:
Dance, Monkey, Dance 163 Maximo ’
Page 189 and 190:
Character or Camera Relative? 165 W
Page 191 and 192:
Shake, Rattle and Roll 167 characte
Page 193:
Page 196 and 197:
172 LEVEL 8 Sign Language—HUD and
Page 198 and 199:
Page 200 and 201:
Page 202 and 203:
Page 205 and 206:
Icon Has Cheezburger? 181 The first
Page 207 and 208:
Don’t Get QTE 183 • Red cross:
Page 209 and 210:
HUDs, and Where to Stick ‘Em 185
Page 211 and 212:
There Are Other Screens Than the HU
Page 213 and 214:
The Pause that Refreshes 189 • Th
Page 215 and 216:
The Pause that Refreshes 191 screen
Page 217 and 218:
The Pause that Refreshes 193 • Fi
Page 219 and 220:
A Final Word on Fonts 195 out of th
Page 221 and 222:
T LeveI 9 Everything I Learned Abou
Page 223 and 224:
Everything I Learned about Level De
Page 225 and 226:
The Top 10 Cliché Video Game Theme
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
The Name Game 207 While designing M
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Relic Raider beat chart The Beat Ch
Page 241:
The Gary Gygax Memorial Mapping Sec
Page 244 and 245:
220 LEVEL 9 Everything I Learned ab
Page 246 and 247:
Page 250 and 251:
Page 252 and 253:
Page 256 and 257:
Page 258 and 259:
Page 260 and 261:
Page 262 and 263:
Page 264 and 265:
Page 267 and 268:
T Levei 10 The Elements of Combat E
Page 269 and 270:
400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 245
Page 271 and 272:
400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 247 C
Page 273 and 274:
400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 249 L
Page 275 and 276:
400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 251 Y
Page 277 and 278:
400 Quatloos on the Newcomer! 253 W
Page 279 and 280:
On Moving On Moving 255 If you take
Page 281 and 282:
On Moving 257 Many games allow the
Page 283 and 284:
On Guarding 259 to decide whether a
Page 285 and 286:
State of the Art Bang Bang 261 does
Page 287 and 288:
State of the Art Bang Bang 263 •
Page 289 and 290:
The Best Gun for You 265 Here are a
Page 291 and 292:
The Best Gun for You 267 • Automa
Page 293 and 294:
Run and Gun 269 to a main gun and a
Page 295 and 296:
Not Just Shooting 271 Rail shooter
Page 297 and 298:
Not Just Shooting 273 Wherever ther
Page 299 and 300:
Dammit Jones, Where Doesn’t It Hu
Page 301 and 302:
Death: What is It Good For? 277 the
Page 303 and 304:
Level 10’s Universal Truths and C
Page 305 and 306:
T LeveI 11 They All Want You Dead V
Page 307 and 308:
They All Want You Dead 283 All of t
Page 309 and 310:
A shooter is an enemy that fires a
Page 311 and 312:
They All Want You Dead 287 A telepo
Page 313 and 314:
• A guard and a bomber. While the
Page 315 and 316:
They All Want You Dead 291 Medium s
Page 317 and 318:
They All Want You Dead 293 Let ’
Page 319 and 320:
Bring on the Bad Guys 295 You are w
Page 321 and 322:
Bring on the Bad Guys 297 like a ma
Page 323 and 324:
Bring on the Bad Guys 299 They ’
Page 325 and 326:
Bring on the Bad Guys 301 ricochet.
Page 327 and 328:
Bring on the Bad Guys 303 Leech: th
Page 329 and 330:
I Love Designing Enemies 305 A is f
Page 331 and 332:
I Love Designing Enemies 307 I hate
Page 333 and 334:
I Love Designing Enemies 309 M is f
Page 335 and 336:
I Love Designing Enemies 311 Spaces
Page 337 and 338:
I Love Designing Enemies 313 Behold
Page 339 and 340:
I Hate You to Pieces 315 gets a goo
Page 341 and 342:
Non-Enemy Enemies 317 comes dialogu
Page 343 and 344:
Who’s the Boss? 319 At first glan
Page 345 and 346:
Size Matters 321 father in order to
Page 347 and 348:
Size Matters 323 safe for them to a
Page 349 and 350:
Size Matters 325 When the player gi
Page 351 and 352:
Why Not to Create the World’s Gre
Page 353:
Page 357 and 358:
The Nuts and Bolts of Mechanics 333
Page 359 and 360:
Holy Death Trap! 335 Cranks are lik
Page 361 and 362:
Holy Death Trap! 337 I was designin
Page 363 and 364:
Time to Die Time to Die 339 we are
Page 365 and 366:
The Music of Mechanics 341 Gaming w
Page 367 and 368:
The Music of Mechanics 343 characte
Page 369 and 370:
A Nice Little Calm Spot 345 The whi
Page 371 and 372:
Riddle Me This 347 While Mr. Kim ha
Page 373 and 374:
Riddle Me This 349 another player s
Page 375 and 376:
A Short Word on Minigames and Micro
Page 377 and 378:
Page 379 and 380:
T LeveI 13 Now You ’ re Playing w
Page 381 and 382:
Now You’re Playing with Power 357
Page 383 and 384:
Now You’re Playing with Power 359
Page 385 and 386:
“Love Thy Player” 361 Most powe
Page 387 and 388:
“Love Thy Player” 363 the playe
Page 389 and 390:
More Wealth Than You Can Imagine! 3
Page 391 and 392:
Page 393 and 394:
Page 395 and 396:
Page 397 and 398:
Page 399 and 400:
Page 401 and 402:
Page 403:
Page 406 and 407:
382 LEVEL 14 Multiplayer—the More
Page 408 and 409:
Page 410 and 411:
Page 412 and 413:
Page 414 and 415:
Page 417 and 418:
T LeveI 15 1 Some Notes on Music Wh
Page 419 and 420:
Some Notes on Music 395 the rights
Page 421 and 422:
Some Notes on Music 397 game? A tra
Page 423 and 424:
Some Notes on Music 399 • Warning
Page 425 and 426:
Sounds Like a Game to Me 401 • We
Page 427 and 428:
Sounds Like a Game to Me 403 Be car
Page 429:
Page 432 and 433:
408 LEVEL 16 Cutscenes, or No One
Page 434 and 435:
Page 436 and 437:
Page 438 and 439:
Page 440 and 441:
Page 442 and 443:
418 LEVEL 17 And Now the Hard Part
Page 444 and 445:
Page 446 and 447:
Page 448 and 449:
Page 450 and 451:
Page 452 and 453:
Page 454 and 455:
430 Continue?
Page 456:
432 Bonus Level 1 The One-Sheet Sam
Page 460 and 461:
436 Bonus Level 2 The Ten-Page Desi
Page 462 and 463:
Page 464 and 465:
Page 466 and 467:
Page 468 and 469:
Page 470 and 471:
446 Bonus Level 3 Game Design Docum
Page 472 and 473:
Page 474 and 475:
Page 476 and 477:
Page 478 and 479:
Page 480 and 481:
Page 482 and 483:
Page 485 and 486:
• Abandoned city • Air/clouds
Page 487:
• Ship/boat deck/interior • Sky
Page 491 and 492:
T Bonus Levei 7 Enemy Design Templa
Page 493 and 494:
T Bonus Levei 8 Boss Design Templat
Page 495 and 496:
Slide 1: Cover Page T Bonus Levei 9
Page 497 and 498:
Slide 4: Game Story Slide 4: Game S
Page 499 and 500:
Slide 6: Gameplay Summary Slide 6:
Page 501 and 502:
Slide 7: Gameplay details Slide 7:
Page 503:
Slide 9: Production Specs Slide 9:
Page 506 and 507:
482 Achievement Unlocked: Exactly L
Page 508 and 509:
484 Index boss battles, 319-329 bos
Page 510 and 511:
486 Index Fat Princess, 422 F.E.A.R
Page 512 and 513:
488 Index Little Red Riding Hood, 4
Page 514 and 515:
490 Index resistances/vulnerabiliti
Page 516:
492 Index walking, 25, 34, 94-97, 2
show all

Level Up.pdf

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?